Archive for March, 2012

Gripe water (tummy tamer for colicky babies)

Saturday, March 24th, 2012

Ingredients
1/8 cup chamomile
1/8 cup fenugreek
1/8 cup anise
1/8 cup dill
1/8 cup fennel seeds
1/8 cup ginger

Directions
Steep equal parts of all ingredients in 4-6 cups boiling water for 15-20 minutes: Can be added to breastmilk hot or cold – I usually make a batch and bottle it to I can add as needed over the next few days; 2-3 tbsp mixed with 2-3 ounces of breastmilk once per day.

I came up with this tea based on some advice from herbalist friends and various web sources. My daughter was crying uncontrollably at night and nothing we did seemed to ease her clear discomfort. A little of this added to my breastmilk in a bottle seemed to do the trick (though babies change so rapidly and so uniquely, it’s nearly impossible to tell what you did right… unless I suppose you had identical twins for a control setup). After a 1 week I skipped for a couple days and she was back up crying. Since then we give it to her every day; it doesn’t seem to matter what time – it appears that as long as she has it once a day, it keeps her stomach calm through several feedings.